1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to heat pipes and the use of heat pipes in the exhaust of a furnace, e.g. a furnace for melting glass batch materials and homogenizing molten glass, and more particularly, to a heat pipe array mounted in the exhaust flue of a furnace to transfer heat from the exhaust gas moving through the exhaust flue to heat conversion equipment or devices positioned outside the furnace walls to use the heat as is, or to convert the heat to another form of energy, e.g. electrical or mechanical energy.
2. Discussion of the Presently Available Technology
As is appreciated by those skilled in the art, a heat pipe is a device that can transfer heat from one point to another, e.g. transfer heat from a heated environment to a position where the heat is used as is, e.g. to heat an area, or to convert the heat to another form of energy, e.g. electrical or mechanical energy.
Although heat pipes are acceptable for heat transfer, the positioning of the heat pipes in certain heated environments has limitations. One such heated environment is heated exhaust gas having a low-pressure drop and a low gas flow as the exhaust gas moves through the exhaust flue of the furnace. When a heat pipe is positioned in the exhaust flue, the flow rate of the exhaust gases is reduced, which can result in disadvantageous effects on the glass melting process.
As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, it would be advantageous to position one or more heat pipes in the exhaust flue of a furnace to transfer heat from the exhaust gas to heat conversion equipment or devices positioned outside the furnace wall, while not adversely disturbing the thermal equilibrium of the heating chamber of the furnace.